We are currently running Oracle RDBMS on AIX. We are looking to migrate over to a Linux based platform but can not decide which would be better, Oracle Linux or RedHat.

A number of us on the technical team would like to move to Redhat but others are concerned since Oracle does not test on any other platform except their own even though they certify on RedHat. (This was told to us by an Oracle Rep).

We are looking to get some feedback (good or bad) from the Linux community on their experience with running Oracle RDBMS on RHEL.

thank you in advance for your responses

I highly doubt you got told that by an Oracle rep, unless they were flat out lying. How, exactly, do you think things get certified to run on different platforms, unless they're TESTED????

Did the Oracle rep also tell you that 'Oracle Linux' is basically just Red Hat Enterprise Linux, but optimized for running Oracle? I've had zero problems with RHEL or SuSE Enterprise running Oracle, and have done so for YEARS. Personally, I'd avoid 'Oracle Linux', since if you have actual LINUX problems (outside of the database related stuff), your level of support can be....entertaining. Go with RHEL or SuSE Enterprise.

I have to say we wondered the same thing about the testing only on Oracle Linux but certifying RHEL. We had a conference call with Oracle regarding their licensing and that's when one of the gentleman on the phone threw out there that they ONLY test on Oracle Linux. They were also trying to persuade us to go with their Linux solution. That's why we wanted to get feedback from people other than Oracle or RedHat.

If you're building a lab/test/development system, sidestep it all and go CentOS instead. You won't be OFFICIALLY supported, but things will work just fine, and it'll save you bucks on non-critical systems.

Anything else, pay for RHEL/SLES. Either works just fine, and for a production system, you want to be able to call someone at dark-o-thirty when things die, and not get into a finger-pointing war. There are vendors that provide a single point of contact, so you call THEM for support, and they provide both Linux and Oracle support, getting either party involved as needed. Shop around. Like I said, I've used Oracle on RHEL/SLES for a LONG time, with no issues. You will have to tweak things at build-time, though, but the Oracle install docs are very clear on what to adjust.

::edit:: And your statement about what the Oracle rep said, reminds me of an IBM shill that was at our place once, extolling the virtues of AIX/IBM over Sun or Linux. Apparently he thought we were all stupid, because EVERY SINGLE GRAPH had the same numbers/percentages, except for the IBM figures, which were (amazingly!) MUCH higher than everyone elses. We called him on it, and told him to get out if he was going to flat lie to us. We got apologies and a half-baked excuse about not proofreading (really???), and some free IBM polo shirts.

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+1 to TB0ne's input and thoughts. RHEL will work just fine. The last place I worked just completed a migration from Sun/Solaris to RHEL with minimal impact on their extensive Oracle database installations.

Also, to affirm what TBOne said: Work to be aware when you're talking with sales staff (as opposed to technical folks), and take everything the sales staff says with a grain of salt.

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Yes, you will be fine running RHEL7. I ran it for years with no problem whatsoever. I see that the Oracle reps are hitting you with the good ol' FUD approach to encourage Oracle Linux adoption, which is normal. They are primarily there to move more Oracle product, and secondarily help you make good technical decisions. All vendors do this to an extent, but Oracle is particularly self-serving in my individual experience.

Red Hat Support is typically much better than Oracle Support. I don't think this can be understated for your normal day-to-day operations. If you find yourself in a Sev1 OS-level situation, I know who I would want to be calling, and it isn't Oracle. I should note that Oracle's RDBMS support group has generally been better than their OS support in my experience. If you or your coworkers are DBAs, good experiences with DB support may not necessarily be the same caliber when you are opening SRs for OL.

I also believe Oracle Linux still ships with a /etc/redhat-release file, which to me has always shed light on what OL really is: a clone of RHEL. It's basically just a me-too OS, and Oracle has poisoned the Red Hat well considerably over the last few years, which I've always found curious...is Oracle really so arrogant as to PO the bulk supplier of their own OS? Apparently so...

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You can check, there were rumors said Oracle Linux support is free if you paying Oracle DB license.

i think oracle has a linux

why not use Oracle's linux ?

i would be, if i was using an Oracle DB product and needed to run linux. i have no idea how much it costs either way (ie, is oracle still making Solaris 'nix?). never had the need.

Oracle Linux is optimized for the Oracle Database and continues to set world record benchmarks on x86 servers. Oracle Linux and the Oracle Database set the world record for x86 system on Oracle's Sun X2-8 server, beating the competition by 68 percent and showing performance number 3X faster than the best published eight CPU result. Oracle Linux and the Database also hold the record TPC-C Benchmark for a 2 processor system with Cisco UCS™ C240 M3 Rack server with two Intel® Xeon® E5-2690 2.9 GHz processors, delivering 34 percent more performance at 32 percent less cost per transaction . To see more details on our continued record of performance please visit Oracle's Benchmark page. says Oracle Database Runs Best on Oracle Linux

In other words, per Oracle, Oracle's the best! LOL